GE Ventures, the corporate venturing subsidiary of industrial product maker General Electric, co-led a $5m series A round for US-based operational data management platform Equalum with venture capital firm Innovation Endeavors on Tuesday. The round also featured private investors including Giora Yaron, Equalum’s founding investor and chairman.
Internet group Tencent has provided an undisclosed eight-figure renminbi amount (RMB10m = $1.5m) of series A funding for GJS Robot, the China-based developer of a range of recreational battle robots, China Money Network reported on Monday. Unity Ventures had previously supplied an undisclosed amount of angel funding for the company before Hillstone Capital and Hofan Ventures Capital added an undisclosed sum in a pre-series A round.
Nissay Capital, the corporate VC arm of insurance firm Nippon Life, has joined 2020, the Japan-focused partner fund for contract electronics manufacturer Foxconn, to provide ¥500m ($4.4m) of pre-series B funding for Triple W Japan, the creator of urination prediction device DFree, The Bridge has reported. It had previously raised $4.9m in equity financing and $480,000 in debt from Nissay, 2020, Hankyu, Revamp Corporation, Hack Ventures ISGS Investment Works, Daiwa Corporate Investment, Mizuho Capital and SBI Investment.
US-based data security technology startup Enveil received $4m in funding yesterday from media and information group Thomson Reuters as well as Bloomberg Beta, the corporate VC arm of media group Bloomberg; an affiliate of financial services provider USAA; and VC fund DataTribe. The round comes after DataTribe supplied $1m in seed funding for Enveil in late 2016.
Luxury goods producer Titan has invested between $3m and $5m in CoveIoT, a Singapore-registered, stealth-stage developer of connected wearable devices, the Economic Times reported on Tuesday, citing multiple sources aware of the development. The startup, which operates under the brand name KaHa, is reportedly working on technology in areas including personal safety, health tracking and digital payment.
Exchange operator Tokyo Commodity Exchange has joined CSV Venture Fund, the venture formed by NEC Capital Solutions, an investment subsidiary of IT equipment producer NEC Corporation, and VC firm Venture Labo Investment, to participate in a £3m ($3.9m) funding round for Glint, a UK-based financial technology startup still in stealth mode. The startup had previously raised $4m in August 2017, and its investors also include VC group Bray Capital and various angel investors.
Jiraffe, the Japan-based operator of second-hand consumer price comparison platform Hikakaku, has raised ¥400m ($3.5m) in a round featuring mobile game developer Gree, mobile commerce marketplace Mercari, Adventure, iMercury Capital, Dream Incubator and Shunsuke Sasaki, The Bridge reported on Monday. The company has now raised $5.7m since it was founded in 2014, according to The Bridge.
FarmLink, an India-based supply chain services provider for the fresh produce industry, has received Rs 200m ($3.1m) in funding in a round led by investment firm Pioneering Ventures that also featured agribusiness Syngenta, the Economic Times reported on Wednesday. The round is the first to be closed by FarmLink, which was incubated by Pioneering Ventures in 2014, and it will use the funding to expand geographically and enhance its technology and supply chain analytics capabilities.
Human resources firm TeamLease Services has agreed to pay Rs 135 ($2.1m) for a 40% stake in India-based online education provider Schoolguru Eduserve, Press Trust of India reported on Wednesday citing a regulatory filing. The investment, consisting of primary and secondary share purchases, will fund geographic expansion, the development of new channels for content delivery and the enhancement of Schoolguru’s technology and content library.
Japan-based group dining app developer Kitchhike has received ¥200m ($1.8m) in funding from Mercari, VC firm and startup studio Mistletoe, VC firm Venture United and a fund jointly established by financial services group Tokyo TY and VC firm Freebank, The Bridge has reported. Kitchhike will use the capital to grow its engineering, business development and customer support teams, and to add features to its app.
Property developer BH3 Management led a $1.6m seed round on Tuesday for Gridics, the US-based developer of a mobile app called Zonar that enables users to view the development potential of a parcel of land. Investment fund Dune Road Capital also participated in the round, having led a $1.1m round for Gridics in May this year that included angel investors John Dyett, Robert Kall and Avra Jain, and which increased Gridics’ overall funding to $2m.
Samsung Next, a subsidiary of consumer electronics producer Samsung, has led a $1.25m seed round for Vidrovr, the US-based creator of an online video search platform, TechCrunch reported on Tuesday. The unit was joined in the round by Verizon Ventures and R/GA Ventures, the respective corporate VC units for telecoms group Verizon and marketing firm R/GA, as well as Social Starts and angel investors including Bernd Girod. Samsung Next principal Vincent Tang will join the startup’s board of directors.
Community bank Choice Financial supplied an undisclosed amount of funding on Monday for Douugh, the US-based developer of an artificial intelligence-equipped banking app, increasing the startup’s overall funding to $2.5m. Choice made the investment as part of a partnership that will involve the companies launching an integrated checking account and debit card.
RPG Ventures, the corporate venturing vehicle for industrial conglomerate RPG Group, has invested $600,000 in India-based online pharmacy MedsOnWay, the Economic Times reported on Monday. The unit had previously supplied $1m in funding for Seniority, the India-based operator of an e-commerce platform catering to senior citizens, in September this year.
Classified listings service provider Info Edge has paid Rs 56.6m ($870,000) for a 27.9% stake in NoPaperForms Solutions, an India-based provider of education enrolment management software, VCCircle reported on Thursday, citing a regulatory filing. Career and educational counselling service Careers360 acquired NoPaperForms in 2015 and sold the platform to its chief strategy officer, Naveen Goyal, for $3m in cash and equity in June this year.
Crayon Data, a Singapore-based big data technology developer backed by conglomerate Mitsui, has received an undisclosed amount of funding from angel investor Senapathy (Kris) Gopalakrishnan as part of its series A2 round, the Economic Times reported on Tuesday. The company had raised approximately $3.9m from Jungle Ventures, Spring Seeds Capital and various angel investors as of 2014, before Mitsui invested an undisclosed sum in February 2016 as part of a commercial partnership.
Bennett, Coleman and Company, the media company also known as Times Group, has invested Rs 16.5m ($250,000) in Foodvista India, the India-based operator of online food delivery service FreshMenu, VCCircle has reported, citing a regulatory filing. VC firm Lightspeed Venture Partners supplied $5m in series A funding for the company in 2015 before returning for a $16.5m round led by growth capital firm Zodius Capital in January 2016 that valued it at about $45m.